LUXURY LIVING

4 successful Shore millennials to watch

Liz Dennerlein
@lizdennerlein

Who said that millennials are lazy? Self-absorbed? Disengaged?

These four success stories will change the negative connotations associated with being a millennial. They have achieved their childhood dreams, started their own businesses, and paved their own path.

Time to argue

Elizabeth Matecki at McOmber & McOmber, P.C.

At 5 years old, Elizabeth Matecki started thinking about becoming a lawyer.

"My dad was like, 'You know you never stop arguing. You should be a lawyer,' I'd argue about time outs, anything. " Matecki said. "For some reason I held on to that all throughout the rest of my life."

Matecki, 27, grew up in Spring Lake Heights, and went on to study at Lafayette College, where she created her own development studies major that combined economics, anthropology and social science.

After college, she began working in a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., however, she didn't feel fully stimulated. She decided to leave her job and pursue left her lifelong dream of studying law at Seton Hall University.

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For Matecki, law school didn't come naturally.

"I found it challenging," Matecki said. "I took this huge risk taking on a lot of debt and going to law school, and (I wondered) is this going to pay off? Am I even going to be happy?"

However, it was her part-time job at McOmber & McOmber, P.C., a law firm in Red Bank, that kept her determined.

Elizabeth Matecki of Red Bank works as an Associate at a law firm.

"Within my first month on the job I felt like I was learning more about what it meant to be a lawyer than in my entire first year of law school, and I found that I loved it."

She spent two months hardly leaving her apartment and losing sleep while studying for the bar exam.

"I'm not someone who anything was ever naturally easy for me. Even my first spelling test I studied my butt off," Matecki said. "I truly believe if you want something then you will be able to achieve it through hard work."

The test lasted three days from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

"By the end you're just drained," Matecki said. "The bar exam is undoubtedly the hardest tests in life. You have to memorize 27 different topics for New York and 27 for New Jersey. I called my mom the day I finished the bar exam crying, saying I failed it.

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“I said, 'You guys all put your time and money into me and I’m not going to be successful.' ”

November of 2014, Matecki passed the bar, and she currently works as an Associate at McOmber & McOmber, P.C., litigating cases, and arguing on a daily basis, just like when she was a little girl. She works mainly on employment and sexual harassment cases. In September, Matecki will marry her fiance.

"The biggest thing is that there were a lot of obstacles in my past — a lot of things thrown my way, and overcoming them was not easy, but at the end of the day I had to make a choice. Do I want this or not?" Matecki said. "Every single day my answer was yes."

Christina Tobia, the marketing manager at Union Square Events.

Loving Martha

Growing up, Christina Tobia wasn't watching cartoons like other children her age. Instead, she was watching the Food Network.

Tobia, 26, who grew up in Manasquan eight blocks away from the beach, remembers always having a love for food.

"I would cook all the time. From as early as I can remember, I was climbing on counters in our kitchen, trying to experiment and make things," Tobia said. "I always had this dream of being like Martha Stewart."

From a young age, she had that entrepreneurial spirit, selling lemonade and snacks as a little girl to local beach-goers. In high school, she even started her own mini catering business, baking cakes for weddings, birthday parties and other events.

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She studied at Fairfield University with a major in management and entrepreneurship. Right before graduation, she began searching for job opportunities at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. When she discovered there weren't any job openings, only college credit internships with the digital team, she added on a summer class.

"My mom was kind of like, 'You just graduated with all these loans and now you're going to do an unpaid internship?' " Tobia said. "I was like, 'Trust me. I've always wanted to be Martha. I will turn this into a job.' "

Every week, the interns would meet with a different executive of the company.

"The next day, I'd have a handwritten thank you card and baked good ready to bring to their office and I'd ask to set up a time to meet with them. I wanted to learn all sides of the business and see if there were any opportunities for me," Tobia said.

Her extra effort landed her a job in marketing.

"I was so surprised how generous (these executives) were with their time. People want to share and help when they can," Tobia said. "Just trying to take advantage of that and be thoughtful of what you can learn and be open to asking questions — that's a big thing."

Today, Tobia works as a marketing manager at Union Square Events, a catering and hospitality company in New York City, where she she's been for a little more than a year and a half.

Since the company is smaller, she tends to wear multiple hats. One day, she might go to CitiField to meet with the New York Mets public relations team to discuss upcoming promotions strategies, while the next she might be doing tastings for a new catering menu.

"Children are really inventive and optimistic, and I kind of feel like my time at Union Square Events has been a return to my childhood," Tobia said. "I really do feel like there are no boundaries."

Jemand Ezeonwuka, personal instructor at Eze Fitness.

Transforming lives

Jemand Ezeonwuka describes himself as the person who would give the shirt off his back to someone in need.

His desire to help others stems from his mother and family, whom he grew up with in Nigeria. Ezeonwuka later went on to move to Long Island when he was 12 years old, then to the Jersey Shore in 2005. He currently lives in Tinton Falls with his wife, where the two own the gym Eze Fitness, which has two locations in Neptune and Brick.

Ezeonwuka, 32, grew up with a love of fitness. He received his bachelor's degree in Sports Management and Fitness and Wellness from California University of Pennsylvania, and began working as a personal trainer for four years at Work Out World in Ocean Township in 2005.

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"I wanted to help people on a larger scale and I couldn’t do that at corporate gyms," Ezeonwuka said. He decided to start his own group training trial business on the side to test out with friends. However, when his job learned of his side project, he was fired.

He spent $300 buying dumbbells, resistant bands and medicine balls and began training people in the park and on the boardwalk. He eventually rented out a studio until he saved up enough money with the help of his then fiancee (now wife) to buy his own personal gym in Neptune

His main mission is to transform lives while promoting positivity. When clients walk in for the first time, they'll receive high fives, even hugs, Ezeonwuka said.

In 2012, Ezeonwuka opened a second location in Brick, and he's currently working on opening a third location in Red Bank this year.

Jemand Ezeonwuka offers personal training at Eze Fitness.

"It’s amazing to see how fast, how much you can grow when you have a passion for something," Ezeonwuka said. "If you told me 10 years ago I was doing this now, I wouldn't believe it."

He's published his book "Breaking the Chain — Gaining Freedom From Your Fat Loss Plateau" and has released a workout DVD titled "Vacation Ready Body."

"My big advice is to have a coach — to get involved with people who are better than you, bigger than you, who inspire you to grow," Ezeonwuka said.

Listen to your heart

Amie Valpone has worked for well-known companies such as Ralph Lauren, Vogue and the National Basketball Association.

But for the Sea Girt native, the daily grind wasn't fun.

"I loved all three jobs — I learned so much, but I never felt fulfilled. I always kept asking myself, 'Is this all there is?' " said Valpone, 32. "We all take ourselves so seriously. Yes, we have to make money and a living for ourselves, but we should be enjoying ourselves and doing what we love.

Amie Valpone, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of
The Healthy Apple.

"Once I started to let go and do what felt right, everything started to fall into place."

Valpone, who also suffered from various health problems, including Lyme disease, C. Diff Colitis and hypothyroidism, decided to quit her corporate lifestyle six years ago. Determined to find the root of her problem, she went back to school to study functional and integrated medicine at the Institute of Integrated Nutrition in New York City.

"It's about understanding what is going on in the body," Valpone said. "What are you eating? Are you sleeping? What are the underlying balances and how can we correct them?"

She also started her own website in 2009 dedicated to wellness in an attempt to help others suffering. "I said I'm never going back to my job again. I'm going to help people."

Her website TheHealthyApple.com, provides organic recipes, wellness advice, nontoxic beauty products and support to those looking to change their health in a holistic manner.

Amie Valpone's new book will come out March 8.

She currently works for celebrities in Manhattan providing personal cooking, and her book "Eating Clean: The 21-Day Plan to Detox, Fight Inflammation, and Reset Your Body" will come out March 8.

"I want my book to inspire people," Valpone said. "It’s a road map for people to learn how to clean up their life."

"I've learned to honestly listen to your heart and do what works for you," Valpone said. "Don’t do anything to gain a following. Your mission should not be to get Facebook likes or Instagram likes. Your mission and what you do and how you help people is what matters."